A pirate ship, fighting in 1588 on the side of the Spanish Armada, suffers damage and must put into a village on the British coast for repairs. The village is small and isolated and the Spanish convince the villagers that the English fleet has been defeated and that they, the Spanish, are now their masters. This results in the villagers' sullen cooperation, but rumors and unrest begin to spread and soon the Spanish pirates find themselves facing a revolt.
Similar titles
Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Beautiful Eastmancolor 2.35:1 widescreen production with lots of action. "The Devil-Ship Pirates" is a well-paced and directed Hammer film with a decent budget and fine acting, including Sir Christopher Lee (then just plain Mr. Lee) convincingly mean and cruel as a pirate captain. One of Lee's better acting jobs in my opinion as he swashes and buckles (including some good sword fights) in an energetic role.English vs. Spaniards and pirates at the time of the Armada, while not much at sea there is plenty of action. Will hold your attention and moves at a brisk pace, therefore everyone can watch and everyone will be entertained.
Don Sharp directed this pirate film set in 1588, where a pirate ship led by Captain Robeles(played by Christopher Lee) is fighting for the Spanish Armada against the British. Their ship is badly damaged, and must go into dock for necessary repairs before they are captured. Their only chance is to convince an isolated nearby English village that in fact, the Spanish have won the battle(and not the other way around) which they manage to do at first, but after awhile, the village men become suspicious, and begin a campaign of sabotage and resistance, in the hope that they are in fact right... Good adventure yarn with interesting premise, fine acting, and well-staged action scenes. One of the best non-horrors from Hammer studios.
Or The Eagle Has Landed...Out of Hammer Film Productions, The Devil-Ship Pirates is directed by Don Sharp and written by Jimmy Sangster. Filmed in Eastman Colour and Megascope, it stars Christopher Lee, John Cairney, Barry Warren, Suzanne Farmer, Natasha Pyne, Andrew Keir, Philip Latham and Michael Ripper. Music is by Gary Hughes and cinematography by Michael Reed.July 1588. In the English Channel the British Fleet has been battling for two days against the mighty Spanish Armada.....Badly damaged, with half their crews killed, the ships of Spain battle their way up the Channel. And in the thickest part of the fighting is one of the smallest Spanish ships – the licensed privateer Diablo.OK, so it's practically a landlocked pirate film, with the water antics confined to the running a ground of the Diablo ship up some English estuary. Yet this should not detract from the good old swashbuckling fun available in this Hammer pirate adventure. Premise basically sees Christopher Lee's band of pirates take control of a remote English village by the sea, they achieve this by telling them that Spain has triumphed in the war and Blighty is under Spanish rule. With most of the village men out fighting the war, there are only a few English guys around and the village is mostly populated by ladies. Some of the village citizens are far from enamoured with the Spaniards being in control, others are a bit more compliant. Something's going to give if the truth will out.With sets used from The Scarlet Blade the previous year, production value is hardly high. But as is often the case with Hammer, you can't really tell as the film is vibrant in colour and costuming. Great cast assembled as well. Lee hardly stretches himself but is most enjoyable to watch swishing a blade and generally being a miserable tyrant. Around Lee are a roll call of stoic Hammer performers, with Ripper (getting a meatier role than usual), Keir, Cairney, Warren and Farmer leaving telling marks. The script slips in some cynicism via a couple of weasel village elders, and there's class distinction in here as well, while much heroic interest is garnered by having Cairney's resistance leader as being lame in one arm on account of a previous scuffle with the Spanish. A true hero!Much of the budget went on the construction of The Diablo ship. It was a ship that went down in Hammer folklore as a pain in the derrière. Such was the bad craftsmanship it often caused accidents, while it also capsized and cost the production a number of cameras and equipment. For the finale in the film the ship is seen ablaze, that's real, they gladly burnt it! But it's a great prop and is well used by Sharp. The director also handles his action sequences well enough, with three solid sword fights of note, one of which is played out in and around a marshy bog. But any expectation of Lee and co being Tyrone Power like will only lead to disappointment. Elsewhere, Reed's Eastman Colour photography is mostly rich and vibrant, though a bit lifeless around the water scenes and Hughes scores it plainly with standard Hammer strains.It has many flaws, obviously for a low budgeted Hammer yarn; for one thing the Spanish invaders are more British than the villagers! But this is still very good genre film making, not a dull moment to be had in what is a classic Sunday afternoon adventure. 7/10
Made in 1964, this action romp (set on land) is one of Hammer's few forays beyond the world of horror.Christopher Lee is on crisply villainous form as Captain Robeles, whose modest privateer Diablo comes off worse when the Spanish Armada gets a sound shoeing and has to limp into hiding in the marshes near an isolated English village.To carry out repairs and escape safely, he and his crew hit on the wizard prank of terrorising the villagers into believing the Spanish won the engagement and that they represent the new authority.It's all done on a shoestring but certainly doesn't look it and boasts all the usual Hammer trademarks of solid if slightly dull hero, heaving bosoms, weak authority figures, cowed locals and a meaty villain.